Landscape painting by Breton
Oil on canvas, height 620mm width 920mm
Painting has been with family for 60 to 70 years. After my dad died the painting was hanging in the lounge of my mother’s apartment. One day( she being 92) when she turned the T V on it exploded and the apartment caught fire. She was rescued by the fire brigade from the 7th floor. Very few items were worth saving, this painting being one and it went to an expert in Malmö who cleaned it and reset it. When my mother died 2 years later the painting was sent to me by my brother. Nobody really knew who had painted it and it was only when I decided to sell it that I wanted to see who the artist was. It wasn’t possible after the resetting and I took the painting away from the frame.
Inherited
Yes
Dear Sven-Anders,
Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.
Your delightful oil painting of two figures walking along a pathway towards the ocean at dawn seems to be by the 19th-century French artist called Emile Adelard Breton (1831-1902). It is signed on the lower right, and the dimensions are 62 cm (h) x 92 cm (w). It is housed in an original carved gilt frame, and the condition looks very good overall.
Emile Adelard Breton usually signs his painting with "E" or "Emile" followed by "Breton", but the way his signature is done here, I can see some great similarities with those from other paintings he did. He is also best known for his atmospheric landscapes with figures very similar to the work you own.
The estimate provided is based on comparables offered and sold at auction in the last five years. The subject work’s size, the composition, condition (based on photographs provided), as well as the artists’ current auction market were taken into consideration when determining the estimate. In many cases, pricing for similar items available on the primary (retail) market vary and are often higher than secondary (auction) market examples.
Please note that this valuation has been provided on the condition of authenticity, which may need to be confirmed with additional research. For more information, please visit www.mearto.com/authenticate.
Best regards,
Karine
Dear Anders,
Thank you for getting back to me with your feedback. It is always interesting to discuss an artist’s signature!
I have looked again at several works by Emile Adélard Breton, and you are right to say that most of his signatures are written with lower case but not always, like this is the case for this particular work: https://webmuseo.com/ws/musenor/app/collection/record/2180?vc=ePkH4LF7w6yelGA1iJESKelDHzOIkKIBmhtSc0EFY1JRakl-HriChgUIAHnAL04$
For your information, this artist sometimes signs his work on the lower left side and sometimes on the lower right side.
To me, the paintings by Jules Adolphe Aimé Louis Breton are more resolved, the style is slicker than your work.
As I am unable to right now to ascertain the attribution of this painting, I think the next step for you is to research this painting further, and this is a service we do offer at Mearto. Should you be interested, I invite you to check the following page from our website: https://mearto.com/authenticate
Or for any other questions not covered on this page, feel free to contact our heard of research Lindsey Bourret who will be happy to assist further. Her direct email is [email protected]
For the appraisal that you have kindly requested last week, you now have the current value of a work by Emile Breton and for you to make a comparison, I am now giving you a fair estimate of a work of similar quality, size, and condition by Jules Breton. This is actually much higher and an estimate is these days between AUD 1,600 and AUD 2,500.
Please feel free to contact me again should you have any other comments. I will be always happy to assist.
I hope this is of help to you.
Best wishes,
Karine
Dear Karine
Thank you for your appraisal. I am no expert and looking for assistance. I have researched as much as I can. This morning after reading your appraisal I looked up signatures of Emile Breton and Jules Breton. The Emile Breton signatures are all written with lower case “breton “ and the Jules Breton signatures are written with upper case “ Breton”. The signature on my painting is identical to signatures on other Jules Breton paintings. I have samples and I will try and send you some. I know the style of painting is somewhat unlike other Jules Breton paintings but he has also produced other landscapes with or without people on them.
The signature on my painting is on the lower left side, not the right side.
In light of this please advise further.
Kind regards
Anders